Sarcofago
I.N.R.I.

1987.

In addition to masterpieces by some famous bands (see "Among The Living", "Scream Bloody Gore", and the innovative "Scum") in August of that year, another absolutely forward masterpiece of metal was released in my opinion, which inevitably influenced a myriad of bands to come, we are talking about the debut of Sarcofago, "I.N.R.I.".

This band was formed in 1985 by Wagner "Antichrist" Lamounier, who appeared as a singer in the very first line-up of Sepultura, by guitarist Zeber "Butcher", who would leave the band two years later, by bassist Juninho "Pussy Fucker", who was replaced in 1986 by Gerald "Incubus" Minelli destined to be one of the group’s pillars along with the singer, and by drummer Eduardo "D.D. Crazy", who would leave the band after recording I.N.R.I. and later join the thrash band Sextrash as a drummer. In 1987, as I said, these four guys managed to create a great work, which in my opinion remains the best album of the band. It is a fusion of Death/Thrash with also a good dose of Black, placing the group at the antipodes of the genre.
Wicked, diabolic, and damn exhilarating riffs accompanied by an almost perpetually blastbeat-heavy drum are thrown in the listener’s face. The compositions manage to have an enormous emotional impact on the listener, leading to a crazy headbanging, which will only end when the CD is over. In fact, the speed and power of "I.N.R.I." are still amazing today, imagine back then. The lyrics, on the other hand, satanic, esoteric, and necrophile, occasionally make you smile, see above all the lyrics to "Desecration of Virgin". Going song by song, one cannot fail to mention the initial "Satanic Lust" with a truly pounding riff, which talks about the sacrifice of a virgin to Satan. It then continues with the already mentioned "Desecration of Virgin" and one of the best tracks of the entire work: "Nightmare" opens majestically with one of the meanest riffs in the history of all metal, with our Wagner yelling the song's name in the chorus like a possessed person. After a quick acceleration, the song shoots up at mad speed, only to slow down again, returning to the initial riff. Notable also is the agitated title track, followed by another hot piece of the album, the very blasphemous "Christ’s Death", which after a searing outburst lowers the tones, and Lamounier, furious, screams as much as he can in an impressive way: "Dieeeee dieeeeee Jesus Christ dieeeeee...I hate youuuuuuu". In the following "Satanas" the growled vocals reach near brutal death levels. After the missile of "Deathrash", the last song arrives, "The Last Slaughter".

After these twenty-eight earthquaking and fiery minutes, one is amazed at how a record from 1987 can still kick such ass!!! Thanks to the sounds and the lyrics, this I.N.R.I. is definitely among the very first Black albums in history... and all this in Brazil!

HISTORICAL.